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As you learned from this module’s resources, one of the most important steps in a systems planning phase involves analyzing a business case

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As you learned from this module’s resources, one of the most important steps in a systems planning phase involves analyzing a business case. A business case provides background information on the organization that plans to implement a new system. It often includes an organizational mission statement, a problem statement for the current system, and stakeholder interviews. Analyzing the business case allows an IT project team to develop a system requirements specification (SRS) and an implementation plan that addresses the needs of the business.

Prompt

Imagine that you are the systems engineer leading a project to implement a new software system for a healthcare organization, Millennia HealthCenter (MHC). In order to plan for the project, you have to better understand the organization and its needs for a new system. Review the following documents to strategize how your team can implement an IT solution:

• Business case for Millennia HealthCenter (Document Attached Below***)
• Interviews with the stakeholders: (Skateholders Interviews Document Attached Below***)
  • Doctor
  • Nurse
  • Business Admin
  • Pharmacist
• The workflow of existing system and processes (Document Attached Below***)

By thoroughly reviewing these documents, you will have a better idea as to why MHC plans to implement a new system. You will use the information you learned about the organization, its processes, and the users to help you develop an SRS. For the purpose of this activity, you will work on the Introduction section of your SRS for Millennia HealthCenter’s new IT system.

After you have reviewed all of the files:

• Download the Systems Requirements Specification Template (Template Attached Below***)
• Create the Introduction content, which must include:
  • System purpose
  • System scope
  • System overview
  • System context
  • System functions
  • User characteristics

Guidelines for Submission

• Upload and submit your template with the Introduction section completed.
  • If you want to get ahead or take notes on the sections after the introduction, you have the option to do so. Only the Introduction section will be graded by your instructor for this activity.

IT 304 Project One Business Case Organization Purpose and History Millennia HealthCenter (MHC) is an ever-growing online and in-person healthcare provider for patients around the globe. MHC has over 30 campuses in the United States and 10 campuses in other countries. MHC aims to provide 24/7 patient care to those who are in need, both in person and online. Patients who recently visited MHC’s hospitals and centers are encouraged to connect with its nurses and doctors online. New and incoming patients also have the option to utilize services prior to seeing their doctors. MHC was established in the late 1990s when the internet was becoming more accessible, and when advances in technology were changing patient care. MHC was one of the first healthcare providers to offer online care for its patients. At the time, the online care provided was minimal, as it was supplemental to on-site visits. Today there is a higher demand to offer more support and patient care online. Industry Although MHC is a global organization and serves patients in various parts of the world, MHC is primarily a part of the U.S. healthcare industry. The organization has to abide by federal regulations and policies of the United States of America, such as HIPAA. Federal regulations cannot be violated. Not only does the organization have to abide by federal regulations and policies for the healthcare industry, but MHC also has its own policies. Two organizational policies that a software system would have to abide by are: ? ? Data Sharing: To maintain the confidentiality and integrity of all organizational data, including data belonging to patients and employees, data is not provided to or sold to third-party vendors or other medical partners without the consent of the user (patient or employee). Premium Patient Care: For MHC to provide premium patient care to all patients, online or offline, transitions between departments and personnel need to be as seamless as possible. The patient experience is at the center of every medical procedure and process. Problem Statement There are several problems with the software and technologies that Millennia HealthCenter currently uses: 1 ? ? ? ? ? ? There have been over 100 cases of inaccuracies in identifying patients. For example: ? Triage nurses have call the wrong patients. ? Medical technicians greet and pick up the correct patient for a specific procedure, but the procedure is not the correct one that the patient is supposed to have that day. The patient data from international campuses is not connected to the database that stores patient data from the United States. ? This was not a problem in the past, but more and more patients with severe medical conditions are traveling abroad. These patients would like to know that if they go to an MHC campus in another country, the doctors and medical staff will have their medical history on hand. Although there is a chat box, there is no video chat feature that allows patients and healthcare professionals to connect. Patient data is insecure because all of a patient’s records can be found on one page, and the current system allows any user to search for any patient. ? Check-in receptionists should not have access to all of a patient’s medical records. ? Two nurses had their licenses suspended because they looked up patient information that was not assigned to them. The system should not have allowed these nurses to access that information. Although the system was cutting edge when it was first implemented in 2005, it is now outdated and too slow. Each department has its own system, which does not always allow for information between departments to be sent accurately and efficiently. Vision The ultimate goal of MHC is to effectively improve the patient’s health and well-being through innovative approaches in health information technology. The vision for the new software system includes: ? Addressing all of the problems with the current system ? Minimizes misidentification of patients and their procedures ? Can connect U.S. patient data to international patient data ? Provides options for medical professionals to facechat or video chat with patients ? Secures patient data by using a patient profile with restricted sections that only approved medical staff can view or access ? Is a faster, modern, more advanced system ? Unifying all of the systems currently used at MHC ? Doesn’t require a different system for each MHC campus or department ? Providing a navigable user interface for all stakeholders ? Allowing for the number of patients to increase by up to 200% while maintaining full system functionality 2 Who Will Use the System? Several departments within MHC will engage with the system, as will professional staff and patients. Departments: o Primary Care o Specialty Care o Emergency Care o Online Care o Check-in Reception Staff: o Doctors o Nurses o Support staff, such as clinical assistants, receptionists, and volunteers Patients who need the following services: o Annual checkups and physicals o Frequent visits with a specialist o Emergency room visits o Online appointments with a medical professional o Support for long-term medical conditions o Support for short-term medical conditions o Preventive care What Other Systems Will Interface with the New System? ? An international database that includes patient data from all countries where MHC serves patients ? The online website that MHC patients and staff have access to Ethical, Legal, and Organizational Parameters Several ethical aspects need to be considered for this system: ? How will patient privacy be protected? ? How will the system be secure so hackers and outside parties cannot interfere with it? ? What international and/or federal policies and regulations need to be abided by? ? What patient data is going to be stored, and how will it be used? 3 IT 304 Interviews with Stakeholders Doctor 1. What is your role in providing services to patients? As a doctor, I have taken an oath to do no harm when it comes to the treatment of my patients. When examining patients, I use the information in front of me to determine the next direction to go in assessing their health. In some cases, I may have to request lab work to be completed before I can make a final diagnosis and treatment plan. I typically only spend 10 to 15 minutes per patient to make this assessment. It is crucial that the information provided for the patient is current and accurate. Bad data can result in wrong diagnosis. 2. What do you dislike about the existing process and software system? Filling out proper paperwork for a patient’s status at the end of the day takes up a huge amount of my time. The data has to be accurate and kept current. 3. What features and functions would you like to see in the new system to improve the process? Having access to a patient’s medical file to quickly make updates will reduce the chances of wrong data being entered. I would also like to be able to fill out the records in real time while interacting with the patient. These features would allow doctors to practice more medicine and less record keeping. Also, being able to access the patient's lab results and X-rays from one system associated with their medical file also allows for better diagnosis of symptoms, thus providing better healthcare for the patient. Nurse 1. What is your role in providing services to patients? As a nurse, I want to accurately and efficiently assess the health status of each patient. When they visit our facility for a scheduled appointment, I check their vitals and review their chart information. I provide this information to the assigned physician by entering the patient’s vitals and current symptoms into our software system. If lab work is required, I gather the patient samples and ensure they are properly labeled and sent off for review, all while ensuring that I accurately enter this information into the system. 2. What do you dislike about the existing process and software system? Whenever overbooking for appointments occurs, it creates a busy day for everyone, and it increases potential errors in providing patient care. Also, not being able to access the patient's full medical chart for drug allergies can cause a delay or mishap in treatment. I also don’t like how I have access to every patient’s data. It makes me nervous that I might accidentally look up the wrong patient and will learn something about a patient that I wasn’t supposed to. 3. What features and functions would you like to see in the new system to improve the process? 1 Come to think of it, I’m really nervous about getting fired, and I think there could be a feature in the system that would ease my nerves. It would be great if the new system locked me out of a patient’s file if I was not their nurse. For security measures, I shouldn’t have access to patient files that I don’t interact with that day. To be real, a couple of nurses were dismissed within the past year because they accessed records that they should not have looked at. I’m constantly on edge that this is going to happen to me. Do you know how many “John Smith” patients we see in a week? What if I look at the wrong patient file and start mixing up the information on the patients? I don’t want to be fired for something that isn’t my fault and that could be prevented if we had a better system in place. Another feature that I would like to see is that the system doesn’t allow for overbooking appointments. A feature like this would allow for us to react quickly to cancellations. It would allow us to fill and open appointments more efficiently. Business Admin 1. What is your role in providing services to patients? As a business admin, I am responsible for the logistical processes that occur from the time when a patient arrives until they depart. I also consider the patient experience before they arrive, and how they may engage with our online services. When the patient arrives, I want to make sure that, if at all possible, the visit is scheduled, and we have the staff available to provide the services. We also need to ensure that the patient's insurance information is current, which allows us to bill the insurance provider soon after the services have been rendered. All copayments, if required, need to be collected from the patient when they arrive. It is also my team’s responsibility to ensure that there are enough time slots available in the day in the event that a patient needs to schedule an appointment on short notice. Overbooking will cause patients to experience a huge delay in time to service from their healthcare provider. 2. What do you dislike about the existing process and software system? One of the issues that takes time to research is the patient’s healthcare provider information. If patients change jobs, their insurance information and copayment fees may all change. Not having this information accurate and accessible causes delays in providing a service to them. There has also been a problem with inaccuracies. A patient may check in at our receptionist’s desk and we identify the patient with the scheduled medical procedure, but when the medical technician comes to pick them up, they have the wrong patient. There is an error in the current system that sometimes confuses the patient identity with the appointment that they are scheduled for. 3. What features and functions would you like to see in the new system to improve the process? Prior to the patient’s visit, it would be advantageous to have the patient fill out an online form that captures current insurance provider information and medical history. This will speed up admittance time and get patients to the doctor/nurse for their medical examinations and services. It would also be ideal if all of the systems would interact with each other in a more accurate way. There seem to be some glitches between the check-in system and the system that the medical technicians and nurses use. This is why we’re striving to have a more unified system for the entire organization to use. 2 However, the important thing to keep in mind is that our staff should never be able to see and review a patient’s medical history, as it would violate MHC’s policies on privacy. Pharmacist 1. What is your role in providing services to patients? As a pharmacist, I have a goal to make sure that I fill the patient’s prescription as soon as possible, but also in a safe and cautious manner. I have to make sure that if the patient is taking existing medication, the new medication will not have any harmful drug interactions. Also, due to the cost of certain drugs, I may provide the patient with an alternative drug to reduce the costs. 2. What do you dislike about the existing process and software system? Not having access to the patient’s drug history delays prescription delivery and adds to the risk of the patient’s care. I understand that there are certain aspects of a medical history that I should not have access to, but if I could have enough information to inform me as to why a patient is taking a medication, and the previous medications that they’ve taken, it would be helpful. I also don’t like how there is no flashing alert when the system indicates that two drugs should not be taken together. Right now, it just says “Negative Drug Interaction; Do Not Take Together,” but there is no red alert that alarms me. 3. What features and functions would you like to see in the new system to improve the process? I would like to have the ability to have all the drug history of a patient, but in a way that respects our patients’ privacy. I would also like to receive an alert message whenever the system searches for drug interactions that are not compatible with each other. 3 IT 304 Project One Workflow of Existing System and Processes This document describes the workflow among the stakeholders (doctor, nurse, business administration staff, and pharmacist) of the existing system and processes. Although this document focuses on medical processes, it’s your responsibility to focus on the underlying information technology requirements. As you read this document, consider: ? Why is it important to understand the current workflow when developing the software system requirements? ? How can the new software system improve the user experience? For example, when a patient comes in for what they believe to be a minor stomach ache, they have to go through various steps before seeing the doctor all the way through receiving the prescribed medications at the pharmacy. Overview of the current process 1. Patient checks in at a self-service kiosk. o A check-in receptionist is available for anyone who opts to check in personally. 2. Patient provides proof of insurance by scanning their insurance card at the self-service kiosk. o A check-in receptionist is available for anyone who opts out of using the kiosk. 3. Patient waits to be seen by doctor. 4. Nurse checks vital signs and enters patient information into medical chart. 5. Nurse provides patient history/current vitals to doctor. o Nurse meets with doctor in person, and documents information in system. 6. Doctor examines patient. o Doctor documents observations in system. 7. Provides status and updates patient’s medical history in system. 8. Patient is provided with solution, or directed for additional testing or overnight monitoring. o Information and requests are entered into the system. 9. Doctor adds prescription to patient’s file; the pharmacist is notified through another system. 10. Patient checks out and stops by the business office to make full or co-payment for services. o Schedules next office visit, if required. 11. If a pharmacist is notified of new patient prescription, they check to verify if patient has known allergies to medication. They also check to see if generics are available at lower cost. Pharmacist provides patient with options for medication and fulfills the order. 12. Patient goes home and stops at pharmacy for prescription. Throughout most of these steps, doctors, nurses, business administration staff, and pharmacists use various interfaces that hold private patient information. As you develop your system requirements specification, it is important to understand the current workflow and how the system can improve these processes. 1 IT 304 Project One System Requirements Specification (SRS) Template Complete this template by replacing the bracketed text with the relevant information in each section. If there are sections that you believe do not need to be considered in this SRS (based on the scenario provided), type in “Does not apply.” Then provide a 1- to 3-sentence rationale as to why that section does not apply for this system. The content in this file is an annotated outline specifying high-level system requirements, adapted from the ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148 International Standard (2011), page 44. References ISO/IEC/IEEE. (2011). International standard: Systems and software engineering—life cycle processes— requirements engineering 29148. Switzerland. Retrieved from https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=6146379 System Requirements Specification Millennia HealthCenter [Your name] [Date] Table of Contents 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 3 1.1 System purpose................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2 System scope....................................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 System overview ................................................................................................................................. 3 1.3.1 System context............................................................................................................................. 3 1.3.2 System functions .......................................................................................................................... 3 1.3.3 User characteristics...................................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Definitions ........................................................................................................................................... 3 2. References ................................................................................................................................................ 3 3. System requirements ................................................................................................................................ 3 3.1 Functional requirements ..................................................................................................................... 3 3.2 Usability requirements ........................................................................................................................ 4 3.3 Performance requirements ................................................................................................................. 4 3.4 System interface ................................................................................................................................. 4 3.5 System operations .............................................................................................................................. 4 3.6 System modes and states ................................................................................................................... 4 3.7 Physical characteristics ....................................................................................................................... 4 3.8 Environmental conditions ................................................................................................................... 4 3.9 System security ................................................................................................................................... 4 3.10 Information management ................................................................................................................. 4 3.11 Policies and regulations .................................................................................................................... 4 3.12 System life cycle sustainment ........................................................................................................... 4 3.13 Packaging, handling, shipping, and transportation........................................................................... 4 4. Verification ................................................................................................................................................ 5 5. Appendices ................................................................................................................................................ 5 5.1 Assumptions and dependencies ......................................................................................................... 5 5.2 Acronyms and abbreviations .............................................................................................................. 5 2 1. Introduction [The following subsections of the SRS provide an overview of the entire system. This section will help the developers build the system, as it addresses the purpose, scope, overview, context, and functions of the system. User characteristics and definitions can also be considered.] 1.1 System purpose [Identifies the purpose of the system and its intended audience.] 1.2 System scope [Defines the scope of the system. This includes the problems that the system will resolve and the vision for the system. Limitations and what the system will not be able to do should also be considered.] 1.3 System overview [Highlights important aspects of the system that developers would need to know. Also highlights aspects that clients/users will care about.] 1.3.1 System context [Describes the context of the system, such as who will be using the system, where the system will be used, the industry and organizations that will use the system, and the various interfaces with the system.] 1.3.2 System functions [Describes the main functionality of the system. You will want to consider how the current system functions and how the new system will differ from it.] 1.3.3 User characteristics [Describes the characteristics of the clients/users who will be using the system once it is implemented. Consider all of the stakeholders whose interviews you listened to.] 1.4 Definitions [Defines keywords. If you use any new keywords throughout your SRS, define them in this section.] 2. References [If you use resources throughout this document, this is your reference section. Use APA formatting.] 3. System requirements [The following subsections of the SRS explain the requirements of the system that will be implemented. This section is the meat of this document, and contains some of the most important information that developers who are working on the project will need to know.] 3.1 Functional requirements [Describes the tasks or functions that the system will perform. To indicate the mandatory nature of these requirements, be sure to use “will,” “shall,” or other unambiguous language when describing the functionalities (e.g., “the system will” or “the doctor shall”).] 3 3.2 Usability requirements [Identifies the user needs and how the system will meet these needs.] 3.3 Performance requirements [Describes the requirements that show that the system is functioning and running properly. This includes how well a function can perform, and under what conditions it should be able to perform.] 3.4 System interface [Explains the system interface, and how it interacts with other existing systems. Also considers the system’s features and how it interacts with the user.] 3.5 System operations [Some systems behave quite differently depending on the mode of operation. When organizing by mode there are two possible outlines. The choice depends on whether interfaces and performance are dependent on mode. In this section, describe how the system operates.] 3.6 System modes and states [If the system can function in various states and modes, complete this section.] 3.7 Physical characteristics [Describes the physical characteristics of the system, including whether it is on-site, off-site, or on a website.] 3.8 Environmental conditions [Describes the environmental conditions that the system might impact, which may include the political, social, organizational, and business environment.] 3.9 System security [Explains how the software system will sustain proper levels of security, such as the log-on procedures, and password and data protection.] 3.10 Information management [Determines how the system will manage information between its databases, and interaction with other systems and interfaces, while considering the privacy concerns.] 3.11 Policies and regulations [Explains how the system will comply with organizational and federal policies and regulations. Includes any relevant organizational or legal parameters that impact the system.] 3.12 System life cycle sustainment [Describes how the team can sustain the quality of the system, for example by using reviews, data collection, and analysis. Also describes the support personnel that may be needed.] 3.13 Packaging, handling, shipping, and transportation 4 [Describes how the system can be packaged, handled, shipped, or transported, especially while in operation.] 4. Verification [Explains the approaches or methods that can be used to verify that the system functions properly.] 5. Appendices 5.1 Assumptions and dependencies [Identifies any assumptions or dependencies that apply to the system requirements.] 5.2 Acronyms and abbreviations [Defines any acronyms and abbreviations used in this document.] 5